Marketing InfOrmation Products and Services A Primerfor Librarians and Information Professionals Editors Abhinandan K Jam Ashok Jambhekar T P Rama Rao S Sreenivas Rao MARKETING INFORMATIONPRODUCTS AND SERVICES A Primer for Librarians and Information Professionals MARKETING INFORMATION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES A Primerfor Librarians and InformationProfessionals Editors Abhinandan Kfain, AshokJamb/ekar, TP Rama Rao, S Sreenivas Rao IDRC C A N A A International DevelopmentResearch Centre Ottawa Cairo Dakar Johannesburg Montevideo Nairobi New Delhi Singapore Tata McGraw-HillPublishing Company Limited NEW DELHI McGrawHill Offices New Delhi New York St Louis San Francisco Auckland Bogota Caracas Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan Montreal San Juan Singapore Sydney Tokyo Toronto © 1999, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad CanadianCataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Marketing informationproducts and services: a primer for librarians and information professionals Copublished in Asiaby Tata McGraw-HillPublishing Company Ltd. ISBN 088936-817-1 I. Informationservices—Marketing. 2. Informationresources—Marketing. 3. Marketing—Management, I. Jam, Abhinandan K. II. International DevelopmentResearch Centre (Canada) HF5415.1 24M27 1999 659.1902 C99-980192-9 Nopart of this publication can be reproduced in any form orby any means without the prior written permission of the publishers. This book is for sale in Canada, North America and South America. Jointly published by InternationalDevelopment Research Centre P0 Box 8500, Ottawa, ON, Canada KIG 3H9 (http://www. idrc.ca/books/) and Tata McGraw-HillPublishing Company Limited, 7 West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110 008 (http://www.tatamcgrawhill.com). Typeset at Anvi Composers and printed at Rajkamal Electric Press, B-35/9,G.T. Karnal Road, Delhi 110 033. RZXCRRBTRYRBA Foreword Recognizing the importance of information in the process of development, Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has over the years supported a large number of projects aimed at developing information systems and services in support of research and development activities. An important objective related to the development of such projects was to ensure that the systems and services developed could be sustained ov'r the long term. A crucial element in the sustainability of information systems and services is effective marketing. It presents avenues to generate revenue and reduce the financial constraints that many information services are facing in developing countries. This has long been recognized by IDRC, and the development of marketing plans has been introduced in several information projects to studyhow this could be achieved. A literature review conducted in 1993 revealed that marketing of information was a relatively new issue in developing countries and that most of the literature on the subject originates in the North. The review concludedthat marketing potential is underes- timated by libraries and information services and that informa- tion professionals were generally reluctant to embrace the mar- keting concept. Information professionals need a better under- standing of marketing concepts and approaches to be able to introduce them into their services and to recover the costs of the information services and products that they provide. In this framework, leaders of a number of IDRC-supported information projects were brought together with a team of spe- cialists in marketing ofinformation at a meeting held at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (JIMA), India, in February 1994. The discussion at this meeting focussed on how institutions in developing countries could be assisted in evolving relevant Foreword marketing strategies. The meeting recommended the preparation of marketing guidelines and case studies that would help information specialists to design proper marketing strategies and marketing plans. Participants at the meeting prepared an outline for a manualthat would respond to this need, and JIMA indicated its interest in coordinating the arduous work of compiling the manuscript. In October 1994, IDRC agreed to finance the activity. This book is the result of IIMA's work. IDRC hopes that the guidelines and approaches proposed to introduce marketing activities within information services and systems will assist information professionals in developing countries with the deve- lopment of sound marketing strategies. IDRC is proud to have contributed to this work—a collaborative effort of several information and development specialists from around the world. RENALD LAFOND SeniorInformation Specialist InternationalDevelopment Research Centre Ottawa, Canada Preface The information era is here. Even at the beginning of the last decade,John Naisbitt in Megatrends (1982) indicated that over 60 per cent of the people worked with information. He pointed out that between six and seven thousand scientific articles were be- ing written each day, scientific and technical information was increasing by 13 per cent per year, and the rate would soon jump to perhaps 40 per cent per year. On one hand, computers and networking have tremendously enhanced information storage, retrieval and dissemination capa- bilities. However, the new facilities require significant invest- ments, which many libraries and information centres, particularly in the developing world, cannot afford. On the other hand, economic reforms, globalization and priva- tization trends in the developing world lay emphasis on private enterpriseand competitiveness. Consequently, government fund- ing of libraries and information centres has been declining, and librarians and information managers have been forced to generaterevenues not only for acquiring state-of-the-art facilities but also for their own survival. Information is power, and more so in a competitive environment. Businesses, governments and individuals are collecting and storing more data than any previous generation in history (Alvin Toffler, Powershifi, 1990). Moreover, information is being recognized as a critical resource for socio-economic development. As a result, libraries and information centres have an opportunityto tap. This marketing guide, therefore, introduces librarians and in- formation professionals to marketing concepts and approaches, helps them to adopt a marketing orientation, and provides them Pref9ce _____ __ with a step-by-step approach to developing marketing strategies and plans for their libraries or information centres. The guide contains nine chapters and two cases studies. • Chapter 1: Prof. Sreenivas Rao highlights the need for adopting a marketing approach by librarians and informa- tion managers. • Chapter2: Drawing upon an earlierresearch on assessment of needs of management information, Prof. Jam and Prof. Rama Rao explain concepts of marketing management and how they are useful and relevant to libraries arid informa- tion centres. • Chapter 3: Ms. Gumbs describes the marketing plan devel- oped by the Technology Information Centre at the Argus Institute of Technology and, through this example provides guidelines for developing a marketing plan. • Chapter 4: Prof. Koshy explains the meaning of products and services in the context of libraries and information cen- tres, and provides guidelines for planning a portfolio of products and services. • Chapter 5: Mr Vespry, Ms. Vespry and Ms. Avery discuss price—one of the four important marketing decisions. With the example ofNational Information Centre on Management (NICMAN) at IIMA, they explain the various considerations in taking pricing decisions. • Chapter 6. Prof. Sreenivas Rao discusses another of the four marketing decisions, promotion, with examples of various libraries and information centres, such as INSDOC, ICRISAT, and CEIS; and provides guidelines for making promotion decisions. • Chapter 7. Prof. Koshy deals with the rationale, procedure and steps of conceiving, designing and introducing new in- formation products and services. • Chapter 8: Mr. Chin and Prof. Jam discuss the what, why, and how of marketing research along with brief descrip- tions, illustrations, and guidelines for planning and execut- ing selected marketing research designs. • Chapter 9: Dominique Beaulieu describes how the Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec switched from free service to charged service and brought about changes in the outlook, attitude and structure of the organization to achieve a marketing orientation. Towards the end of the guide, two case studies have been included. • (A) "Caribbean Energy Information System" by Ms. Whyte and Prof. Sreenivas Rao and • (B) "Asian CD-ROM on Health and Environment" by Mr. Chin and Prof. Jam. CEIS was set up to enhance the capabilities of the Caribbean countries in energy information collection, storage and utilization for optimum conservation and utilization of the region's energy resources. The other case presents the marketresearch conducted for assessing suitability and utility of CD-ROM publishing, a mod- ern information technology, and the process of developing suit- able marketing plans for the same in developing countries. This guide can be used as • a text to understand marketing concepts, tools and tech niques relevant to a library/information centre, • a reference bookto draw up marketing strategies and plans, and • a training manualin educational and training programmes for librarians and information managers. EDITORS Acknowledgements This guide is an outcome of a workshop held at the Indian Insti- tute of Management,